It's Not a Lewd Party (1)
It's Not a Lewd Party (1)
The first guest to arrive for the housewarming was Baek A-rin.
She kept pressing the doorbell at the front gate—pressing it, apparently, rang a chime inside the mansion.
I shot out like my tail was on fire, and Hong Yeon-hwa, who had rushed out right after me, joined me in greeting Baek A-rin.
"Anyway, what did you do to him this time?"
"What a thing to say the moment you arrive. Do what?"
Baek A-rin looked me over and tilted her head.
At her baffling remark, I tilted my head too, while Hong Yeon-hwa answered with visible annoyance.
"Ha-yul's clothes are all disheveled. His hair too... good grief."
Sighing heavily, Baek A-rin reached toward me.
With a few gestures of her hand, my clothes settled calmly back into place. The rumpled, twisted fabric regained its proper form.
"So sloppy. You should keep your clothes tidy whether you're inside or out, you know?"
My mouth fell open in a silent 'Ah.'
Come to think of it, I'd rushed out so urgently that I forgot to straighten my clothes.
On top of that, I'd used Body Reinforcement Technique and even Homogenization to dash out at high speed—no wonder my outfit had come all undone.
I was greeting a guest, and I'd shown up looking like a mess.
[I'm sorry]
[I came out in a hurry...]
"Tch, stay still."
Just as I was fumbling to move both hands while blaming myself for the mistake, a voice from above my head made my body freeze in place.
"There, good boy."
Seeing me stop dead mid-motion, Baek A-rin smiled softly and swept my hair back.
"Why did you have to come rushing out... And anyway, your clothes shouldn't get this disheveled just from running outside..."
"Ahem..."
Hong Yeon-hwa, who had been radiating discomfort at Baek A-rin's actions, suddenly let out a dry cough.
"And such a docile Calamity Flame is moving around so actively too... I wonder if someone from outside has been fanning the flames..."
"What, why are you looking at me with those... eyes?"
"Oh, I'm just looking at a friend's face. Do you perhaps have a guilty conscience?"
"Guilty? About what? Me? What did I do wrong?"
At Baek A-rin's strange look, Hong Yeon-hwa's eyes narrowed sharply. Baek A-rin shrugged innocently, asking why she was overreacting.
The two of them bickering as usual. Even through it, Baek A-rin's hands kept moving, and soon my appearance returned to normal.
"There, done. You can move now."
The tidying ended with a final gesture of tucking my hair behind my ear. I flinched briefly at the cool touch against my earlobe, then marveled at my clothes and hair, now neater than before they'd gotten messed up.
"In case you need straightening out again, do let me know. I'll gladly do it anytime."
[Ah]
[Thank you]
[I appreciate it]
"It's nothing. Anyway, what do you think? I dressed up a bit... Can you sense it all with your Detection?"
Smiling brightly, Baek A-rin straightened up and subtly emphasized her figure.
One hand on her hip, the other lifting the brim of the hat on her head just a touch.
'Hmm...'
Belatedly, I discreetly examined Baek A-rin's outfit.
A pure white dress and a wide-brimmed straw hat, perfect for blocking the sun.
The dress had no distinct ornamentation besides its frills, giving an elegant and clean impression.
Aside from the straps, her shoulders were bare, and the dress was loose and flowy overall.
A billowy outfit can sometimes make a person's frame look overly large, but the blue sash tied below the chest served as an accent and prevented that flaw.
...Thanks to that, her ample chest was emphasized... but anyway.
On the whole, her attire seemed suited for this sweltering summer weather—like something you'd wear to enjoy a picnic in summer.
And her hair itself being sky-blue, paired with the white dress, gave off a fleeting air of innocence.
...Though that innocent aura wasn't entirely undiminished by her full chest.
'But something's weird...?'
I felt a subtle sense of incongruity from Baek A-rin's chest. A minor dissonance prodding at my head, so to speak. Something was different from before.
I tilted my head, about to initiate a detailed observation—
"Don't just detect my chest, please."
[Yes]
[Pardon?]
[That's not—]
[When did I ever]
"Whoa. I was just teasing, but were you really observing only my chest?"
At the words that jabbed sharply into my preoccupied mind, I jolted in surprise.
When I promptly shifted my observation's focus, I observed Baek A-rin covering her playfully lifted lips with her hand.
I was about to burst out in protest, but...
"...Ha-yul?"
[It's a misunderstanding...]
Right after, at the glare of Hong Yeon-hwa's eyes smoldering at me from the side, I quietly shrank into myself.
.
.
.
Not long after Baek A-rin's arrival, the other guests began to arrive one after another.
Since the purpose of the visit was a housewarming, we toured the place together before dinner.
"Wow~ look at all these rooms."
Baek A-rin looked around the rooms intended primarily for residence. She flung open one unoccupied room after another in the central area, marveling at the state of the interior fixtures.
"The rooms are spacious and everything's nice. I expected as much from the size of the mansion, but it really is a lot. Looks like it's maintained by magic... Several people could move in and live here without a problem. Right?"
[Yes]
[There's an annex too]
[It seems like even hundreds of people could live here]
"Exactly."
[?]
I tilted my head at Baek A-rin's mysterious smile.
.
.
.
"The training facility is well-equipped too. It has all the features you'd need... Judging by the equipment alone, it's a really nice place."
As expected of a physical-type superhuman, Master mainly inspected the training facilities on the east side.
She didn't just look—she tried them out herself.
Fortunately, the condition of the facilities seemed satisfactory to her.
I hadn't personally tried them out yet.
I'd been too busy with moving preparations, the library, and cooking, but also because there were quite a few bizarre and extraordinary facilities.
A prime example would be the Gravity Pressure Device—just from the explanation, it sounded like the kind of training equipment you'd see in some manga.
"Would it be all right if I came by to use it later?"
"Yes, please come by whenever you need to."
I had wondered whether it was actually useful, but if my master—who has such exacting standards—reacted like that, the facility seemed well worth using.
.
.
.
"Wow. The facilities here are really nice. A swimming pool, a sauna room, a steam room..."
Professor Liana mainly had her eyes on the west side.
She'd glanced briefly at the training facilities on the east and the material cultivation facilities spread throughout the gardens, but the moment she saw the west side with all its recreational facilities, she dashed straight over.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, this is really nice..."
She ultimately claimed one of the premium massage chairs and sprawled out on it comfortably.
[...Professor Liana, can't someone of your stature obtain something like this any time?]
Whirrrrrr... Professor Liana, sunk into the massage chair, shrugged her shoulders.
"Ahh... even at a glance... nothing caught my eye... Even if you have money, if there's no listing, it's all pointless..."
[Ah-ha]
True, even with money, if no one's selling, it's useless. And even if you find one, it might not be to your liking.
"Aahh, that's the spot..."
Master had looked at the training facilities first, while Professor Liana had bolted straight for the recreational facilities.
The contrast made sense to me.
Although Master had entered Siyoram as a professor, officially she was still on active duty.
Professor Liana, however, had retired from the Demon Realm Frontline due to injury.
It made sense that she found training utterly tiresome and was interested in recreational facilities instead.
'...Which means I dragged a retired person through hell in China.'
As my thoughts continued, guilt quietly reared its head at the realization I arrived at.
It hit me anew: calling an already-retired Professor Liana all the way to China and putting her through hardship was truly an ungrateful thing to do.
I would have to repay her without fail—more than enough to make up for the trouble I'd caused.
- Whirrrrrr...
...I made that resolution while excluding from my observation the large mass of flesh trembling along with the massage chair's vibrations.
.
.
.
"Sorry I'm late, Junior."
The last guest was Lee Ji-yeon.
[Late? Not at all]
[We've still got plenty of time before the agreed time]
[Come on in]
"Ah, yes... thank you."
Lee Ji-yeon had said she was sorry for being late, but the sunset hadn't even touched the ground yet.
Part of it was that summer days are longer, but it was also because today's schedule had wrapped up early.
It's second semester now, when cadets typically choose their own lectures.
Many cadets adjust their timetables to have an entire day with no lectures or take only one or two courses to secure a day off.
That trend is especially concentrated on Mondays and Fridays, I hear.
Today happened to be Friday, so most cadets and professors finished their work early today.
"Well then, pardon my intrusion..."
Lee Ji-yeon stepped into the mansion with a somewhat awkward demeanor.
'Hmm...'
We had certainly gotten closer in our own way, but compared to the others, Lee Ji-yeon wasn't exactly at ease with me yet.
But I had invited her to the housewarming.
Partly to deepen our acquaintance, and partly because I had a favor to ask her soon.
'Time to bring up that favor.'
We'd built up enough of a relationship by now.
I planned to ride the dinner atmosphere of this housewarming and casually slip in the request.
She'd mentioned a debt she owed me last time, so she'd probably agree.
...Honestly, it was a calculating thought, but I couldn't help it.
It concerned me, and it concerned Seo-yul too...
Anyway, everyone had gathered.
Now it was time to call the people resting in their rooms and start the meal.
'Hoo...'
Nodding to myself with renewed resolve, I reached into my Subspace.
- Plunk...
An object touched my fingertips.
The smooth, cold sensation sent a shiver through my body.
It offered no scent or taste to speak of, yet revulsion rose up first.
But I steeled myself and gently grasped it.